Download An Energy Fundamentals Intro and Summary

An Energy Fundamentals
Intro and Summary
By Don Lancaster
and Synergetics
http://www.tinaja.com
True or False? (I)
■ Gasoline has less hydrogen in it than liquid
hydrogen does.
■ Fuel cell cars are "much more efficient" than
regular ones.
■ Silicon pv panels are a net energy source.
■ On-board car electrolysis dramatically improves
fuel economy.
■ Exergy is not important because you have never
heard of it.
■ Corn is an excellent ethanol feedstock.
■ Grid, wind, pv or alternators are all very good
hydrogen electrolysis sources.
True or False? (II)
■ Amortization dollars and kilowatt hours of
electrical production are unrelated.
■ An electrical kilowatt hour will have the same
quality and value as a hydrogen one.
■ "Brown’s Gas" is a revolutionary new technology
being suppressed by the oil companies.
■ There are no economics of scale to pv solar
energy; small and personal is better.
■ Since energy cannot be created or destroyed, its
quality always remains constant.
■ Compact fluorescent lamps are always more
efficient than incandescent ones.
True or False? (III)
■ The main purpose of pv panels is to go offgrid.
■ Alternate energy subsidies have proven to be
extremely cost effective.
■ "Temperature" measures the quantity of heat
stored.
■ Energy density by weight is the most important
criteria for automotive apps.
■ Terrestrial hydrogen is an energy source.
Gotcha!
( ALL of the above statements are outright lies! )
Some People…
…will do ANYTHING to save the environment.
Some People…
…will do ANYTHING to save the environment.
… EXCEPT take a science course!
Work and Energy…
■ WORK happens when a FORCE moves through a
DISTANCE.
■ Work is sometimes measured in FOOT POUNDS.
■ ENERGY is the ability to do work.
■ Energy is sometimes measured in BTU’s of heat,
as Joules (or wattseconds) or as watthours of
electricity.
■ POWER is the TIME RATE of energy use.
■ Energy measures "how much". Power measures
"how fast".
BTU’s and Kilowatt Hours…
■ A BRITISH THERMAL UNIT or BTU is the
energy required to raise the temperature of one
pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.
■ Or roughly the energy in one kitchen match.
■ A BTU equals 777 foot pounds of work. This
is the MECHANICAL EQUIVALENT OF HEAT.
■ A KILOWATT HOUR is 3,600,000 Joules. Or use
of a 100 watt light bulb for ten hours. Or an
average week’s use of a microwave oven. Or
running up stairs continuously for five hours.
■ Or about TEN CENTS worth of electricity.
Some Temperature Basics…
■ BTU’s measure the QUANTITY of heat energy.
■ Temperature measures heat energy QUALITY.
■ Efficiency DEMANDS high quality energy.
■ TEMPERATURE SCALES differ in their values for
absolute zero, freezing, and boiling…
FAHRENHEIT ( -459, 32, 212 degrees )
RANKIN ( 0, 491, 691 degrees )
CELSIUS ( -273, 0, 100 degrees )
KELVIN ( 0, 273, 373 degrees )
■ RANKIN or KELVIN has to be used for heat
engine efficiency calculations.
An energy delivery system…
■ …usually has three major costs…
■ The cost of the FEEDSTOCK.
■ The cost of the DELIVERY SYSTEM.
■ The cost of the AMORTIZATION.
■ Typically, delivery and amortization costs will
totally dominate. Often making a "free" energy
feedstock source noncompetitive.
Amortization…
■ Amortization is the timed payment of earlier
financed value. Here is a calculator.
■ For instance, $10,000 at 9 percent for 8 years
amortizes at $146.50 per month.
■ Paying cash in advance makes no difference
because of the excluded opportunity costs.
■ Having value left when payments are completed
is simply accelerated depreciation.
■ There are no differences between institutional
financing, personal savings, or hobbies.
Easily confused are…
■ ENERGY SOURCES - A substance or process
( such as gasoline ) that can add fully burdened
net new BTU’s of energy to the economy.
■ ENERGY CARRIERS - A substance or process
( such as hydrogen ) that has to be "filled" with
old net energy before it can deliver.
■ Without exception, ALL energy carriers will
consume more old energy than they return.
■ ENERGY SINKS - A substance or process ( such
as today’s pv or corn ethanol ) that uses much
more net old energy than it delivers.
Thermodynamics tells us…
■ …that any economy will be ultimately driven
by its net energy inputs.
■ Obviously, no energy = no economy.
■ DOLLAR - A voucher exchangeable for the
the personal use and control of 10 electrical
kilowatt hours or 30 gasoline kilowatt hours.
■ UTILITY BUYBACK AGREEMENTS - contractually
equate currently dimes and kilowatt hours as
being interchangeable and fungible.
■ You can keep score either way.
Gasoline versus dollars…
■ It can be useful to think of "spending dollars"
as "spending gasoline".
■ A solar panel that amortizes three cents a day
but generates only two is a net energy sink.
■ Taken in their totality, all pv solar panels to
date are a large net energy sink.
■ An energy sink that will get worse as new
dollars are thrown at emerging technologies.
■ Thus, not one net watthour of conventional
silicon pv energy has ever been produced.
■ Proof of this is that not one power utility is
yet using pv for routine peaking.
The Magic Switch…
■ There is a two position power switch on
most any pv panel to date…
■ In position "a", you destroy a lot of gasoline.
■ In position "b", you destroy even more.
■ All the incoming solar energy does is reduce
your loses.
■ Taken in their totality, all pv solar panels to
date are a large net energy sink.
Two Ways to Measure Energy Density…
■ GRAVIMETRIC energy density asks "How heavy?"
■ Gravimetric energy density can be
measured in watthours per kilogram.
■ VOLUMETRIC energy density asks "How big?"
■ volumetric energy density can be
measured in watthours per liter.
ENERGY DENSITY COMPARISONS
Gasoline
LNG
Propane
Ethanol
Liquid H2
150 Bar H2
9000 Wh/l
7216 Wh/l
6600 Wh/l
6100 WH/l
2600 Wh/l
405 WH/l
13,500 Wh/Kg
12,100 Wh/Kg
13,900 Wh/Kg
7,850 Wh/Kg
39,000* Wh/Kg
39,000* Wh/Kg
Lithium
Flywheel
Liquid N2
Lead Acid
Compr Air
STP H2
250 Wh/l
210 Wh/l
65 Wh/l
40 Wh/l
17 Wh/l
2.7 Wh/l
350 Wh/Kg
120 Wh/Kg
55 Wh/Kg
25 Wh/Kg
34 Wh/Kg
39,000* Wh/Kg
* = uncontained
Which Density is Important?
■ FOR DEEP SPACE, gravimetric energy density
can be crucial because of specific impulse.
■ For AUTO and terrestrial aps, volumetric
energy density overwhelmingly dominates.
■ Tripling the gravimetric energy density of
gasoline saves about 26 pounds of weight.
Which might be nice, but is no big deal.
■ You always have to consider the CONTAINED
gravimetric energy density. No means of
storing hydrogen is know that is remotely as
dense by weight as contained gasoline.
Why Gasoline?…
■ Gasoline ( and diesel ) have exceptional
energy density combined with low cost and
acceptable standards of safety and delivery.
■ Any alternative solution MUST seek parity
somewhere near 9000 watthours per liter.
■ Like it or not, gasoline is likely to remain
the de facto standard of energy density
comparison for the foreseeable future.
■ The best of lithium batteries are 36 TIMES
larger than gasoline. Standard lead acid
batteries are 200 times larger AND heavier.
Why not Ethanol?…
■ Ethanol is a water-loving polar solvent and
thus a very poor choice for a fuel.
■ Ethanol from corn is horribly energy inefficient
and can easily become a net energy sink.
■ A case can be made that corn ethanol is an
outrageous 15 billion dollar vote buying scam
of zero technical or environmental merit.
■ Switchgrass or Bagasse (sugar cane residue)
may have potential as ethanol feedstocks.
■ Ethanol fires resist many firefighting foams.
Why Not Hydrogen?…
■ Hydrogen is ONLY an energy carrier. You have
to fill it with old energy before you can use it.
■ There is more hydrogen in a gallon of gasoline
than there is in a gallon of liquid hydrogen.
■ The CONTAINED energy density of hydrogen by
weight is much LESS than gasoline. Energy
density by volume is a 3000:1 ludicrous joke.
■ No vehicle practical means of increasing
hydrogen density is known. Liquid hydrogen
raises major efficiency and safety issues.
■ The explosive range of hydrogen is among the
widest known. It is ignitable with extremely
low spark energy and burns invisibly.
Efficiency…
■ Efficiency is a measure of how much energy you
get back for a net energy input.
■ Efficiency can be measured several ways…
■ RAW EFFICIENCY -- strict energy output
versus energy input as measured in a lab.
■ FULLY BURDENED -- the efficiency
after amortization and direct costs.
■ SOCIETAL -- the efficiency after
allowing for all hidden factors.
■ "Efficacy" is a more correct term when input
and output energy forms are different.
Secrets of Thermodynamics…
■ There ain’t no free lunch.
■ You cannot win.
■ You cannot break even.
■ Everything eventually goes to
hell in a handbasket.
Or, more formally…
■ Energy normally flows from hot to cold.
■ You have to input much more heat energy
to a heat engine than you recover as work.
■ The best you can possibly do is the CARNOT
LIMIT set by the absolute temperature ratio.
Specifically: (Th - Tl)/Th. Or (Delta T)/Th.
■ Good thermodynamics is REVERSIBLE. Meaning
that it works equally well in either direction.
■ An ADIABATIC reversible process kicks off or
accepts no external heat energy.
■ An ISOTHERMAL reversible process takes place
at constant temperature.
Beware the Mantra…
■
"Energy can neither be created nor destroyed"
is a true but woefully misleading statement.
■ Because the QUALITY and FOCUS of energy will
decline with each and every use. You have a
three legged stool consisting of…
■ ENERGY - which is the capability of
doing work.
■ ENTROPY - which is a statistical measure of
the disorder of the present energy form.
■ EXERGY - which is an economic measure of
the quality of the present energy form.
Understanding Exergy…
■
Exergy is a measure of the QUALITY and
UTILITY of energy in its present form.
■ Specifically, exergy measures the recoverable
and reversible energy fraction remaining.
■ To measure exergy, you convert energy to some
other form, convert it back, and see how much
you have left.
■ Loss of exergy is destructive and permanent. It
can be similar to 1:1 exchanging US Dollars for
Mexican Pesos.
Avoiding value destruction…
■ Electricity is just about the highest exergy
stuff there is.
■ The exergy in gasoline can be around one-third
that of electricity. Because it is hard to build a
gasoline generator above 33 percent efficiency.
■ Electrical resistance room heat is an example of
terribly wasted exergy. Natural gas or heat
pumps are often 3X to 5X less destructive.
■ Electrolysis from high value electrical sources
( grid, wind, pv, or alternator ) for hydrogen
makes no thermodynamic or economic sense.
A key point being that…
■
The irreversible destruction of exergy through
electrolysis is ludicrous.
■ There ALWAYS will be more intelligent things
to do with the electricity.
Other Problems with Electrolysis Fantasies…
■ A switchmode voltage-to-current controller is
demanded for efficiency.
■ Stainless steel is unusable for electrodes because
of the hydrogen overvoltage of iron. Costly and
often renewed platinized platinum is needed.
■ It is trivially easy to UNDER MEASURE pulse
waveforms. Specialized tests are demanded.
■ A large body of pseudoscience "electrocity"
ignores Faraday’s laws. There is no "water
powered car".
■ Safety and embrittlement issues are extreme.
Why in-vehicle electrolysis doesn’t work…
■ The primary product produced is low grade
heat, forming a DYNAMIC BRAKE that stops the
vehicle in less than normal coasting distance.
■ Standard automotive alternator efficiency is
very low. Engine load increases faster than
increasing alternator output.
■ Only trivial amounts of power can be routed
through a standard fanbelt.
■ Most product designs are uselessly inefficient.
Stainless steel can NOT be used for electrodes.
Crucial current switchmode drivers are absent.
■ Costs overwhelmingly outweigh the benefits.
An on-board vehicle electrolysis summary…
■ Before the stupid mistakes are made,
the numbers do not add up by a country mile.
■ After the stupid mistakes are made ( such as
stainless steel, a fanbelt, outrageous costs,
but no switchmode driver ), the numbers
become laughingly absurd.
What About Fuel Cells?
■ A fuel cell is an electrolysizer run backwards.
■ Max possible efficiency is one-sixth exothermic.
■ Motor, controller, and wiring losses further
limit efficiency. As does fuel reformation and
being unable to use the fuel’s carbon fraction.
■ Serious issues remain with membrane lifetimes,
total costs and system reliability.
■ Fuel cells are unlikely to EVER significantly
exceed conventional efficiencies. Meanwhile,
the ICE is improving at a much faster rate.
Which subsidy do you prefer?
■ The OLD CALIFORNIA model in which virtually
all of the paybacks went into boiler shop
scams that set pv back by many decades.
■ The NEW CALIFORNIA model in which it may
take FIFTY THREE YEARS of total pv net
new energy production to pay the debt.
■ The TORONTO model in which they hand
pushed and coasted their nonworking hydrogen
bus into a major media event. Where, of course,
it was lavishly praised for its silent operation.
■ The ARIZONA model in which you were given a
free SUV for installation of a one gallon tank.
Or these?
■
The DETROIT model where their bus demos are
trucking hydrogen in from Pittsburgh.
■
The MIDWEST model where a monumental
energy sink was cleverly disguised as a twelve
billion dollar vote buying scam.
■
The SOUTH CAROLINA model where they added
a five ton evaporative cooler to get their 3 ton
but nonworking solar adsorption cooler to
look good.
■
The BRAZIL model that nearly bankrupted
the entire country over monumental ethanol
stupidity.
Because…
■ It makes zero environmental or economic or
thermodynamic sense to pay people to put
obsolete and known defective gasoline
destroying net energy sinks on wildly
inappropriate rooftops.
For More Detail:
■ This has summarized of these text tutorials…
SOME ENERGY FUNDAMENTALS
MORE ENERGY FUNDAMENTALS
■ More on electrolysis can be found at…
MUSE153.PDF
TRASHELC.PDF
■ Ongoing energy developments are viewed at…
WHAT’S NEW 08
■ Custom consulting is available by way of…
Our INFOPACK Research Service
This has been…
… a presentation by Don Lancaster
and Synergetics, 3860 West First Street, Box 809,
Thatcher, Arizona, 85552. (928) 428-4073.
mailto:[email protected]
Copyright c 2008 and earlier by Don Lancaster and Synergetics.
Linking usually welcome. All media, web, and ALL other rights
fully reserved. Mirroring or reposting is expressly forbidden.